The New Orleans Saints completed their second interview with Kellen Moore for their head coaching vacancy on Monday night, the team announced Tuesday.
The interview was conducted in person, indicating that Saints brass traveled to Philadelphia to meet with the Eagles offensive coordinator. Their initial interview, which occurred on Jan. 18 ahead of the Eagles’ divisional-round game against the Los Angeles Rams, was virtual.
The 35-year-old Moore has been a popular candidate across the NFL throughout this hiring cycle for head coaches. In addition to the Saints, Moore interviewed virtually with the Dallas Cowboys, where he spent three seasons as a player (2015-17), one as the quarterbacks coach (2018), and four as the offensive coordinator (2019-22).
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He did not land that gig — the Cowboys announced Brian Schottenheimer, their most recent offensive coordinator, as their new head coach on Friday.
Moore also interviewed with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Jan. 17 for their head coaching position, which was previously occupied by former Eagles coach Doug Pederson. He did not secure that role, either. The Jaguars hired Liam Coen, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator, as head coach on Friday.
The Saints are the only remaining team with a head coaching vacancy. Six teams have hired new head coaches this offseason: the Cowboys, the Jaguars, the Chicago Bears (Ben Johnson), the Las Vegas Raiders (Pete Carroll), the New England Patriots (Mike Vrabel), and the New York Jets (Aaron Glenn).
So far in his four-year tenure as Eagles head coach, Nick Sirianni has seen two of his coordinators leave his staff for head coaching gigs. Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon departed for head coaching jobs with the Indianapolis Colts and the Arizona Cardinals, respectively, after the Eagles’ Super Bowl LVII appearance two years ago.
Ahead of Moore’s interviews roughly a week and a half ago, Sirianni pushed back on the notion that Moore would be distracted from the Eagles’ postseason run by participating in interviews with other teams. He said on Jan. 17 that Moore handled both facets of his preparation “like a pro.” Sirianni also said that Moore “will be a great head coach” when his opportunity arrives.
“Just can’t say enough good things about what he’s done here as our coordinator, how much I think of him as a play-caller and offensive coordinator,” Sirianni said on Jan. 10. “I think of him very highly as a person. A great man of character and everything he stands for. I think he would be — yeah, I should temper — a great head coach. I have no doubt in my mind.”